Rival Boxing Gear

Rival Boxing Gear is a Canadian company and a global player and market leader in the boxing gloves and boxing training equipment market. Rival Boxing Gear offers innovative and stylish boxing gear designed by boxers for boxers. Our entire boxing line is designed based on extensive research and in-depth knowledge of the sport of boxing. Only the highest quality materials are used.

"At Rival, the belief is that while other companies are businessmen trying to infiltrate the boxing world, Rival is proud to be boxing people trying to infiltrate the business world."

The beginning

Rival was founded in 2003 by veteran boxing trainer and seasoned cutman Russ Anber. Rival entered the market with the promise to reinvent the boxing equipment market by leveraging innovations that Russ had over 25 years of experience gained in boxing. In addition, Russ had already gained more than 10 years of experience in offering and selling foreign boxing brands on the Canadian market. When the first order from Rival came in for USD 2000, - Russ promised that every subsequent order would be bigger ; and so it happened!

From the very beginning, Rival has been a brand that focuses on the high-end segment of the (semi)professional boxing market. There are countless brands that sell cheap boxing gloves and gear, but this is not the market that Rival focuses on. Rival's goal is to bring the very best boxing gloves and boxing gear to the market that all top amateurs, professionals, gyms and boxing trainers can use with complete confidence.

“By Boxing People For The Boxing World”

The evolution

Rival's recipe for success is characterized by the outstanding quality and durability of their products. The great products and results have all been achieved without copying other brands or infringing on other people's patents or intellectual property. Since the start in 2003, all products have been based on original ideas that have been poured into unique, innovative designs .

From that modest initial production order of $2,000, Rival has grown into a fully-fledged and respected global brand with stores, offices and employees in 4 countries: Canada, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Additionally, they have full partners in 7 major boxing gyms, 4 of which are in Canada, 2 in the US and 1 in Spain.

Rival Boxing Gear around the world

After building a solid reputation in the Canadian market – operating out of Montreal and Quebec – Rival began expanding into the United States, opening an office in Las Vegas in September 2014. This was soon followed by a UK headquarters in July 2017. This was followed by an Australian office in July 2019. Each Rival location prides itself on being run by staff with a background in boxing , as well as staff with whom Rival has built long-standing business relationships. All staff trust Rival, and Rival in turn trusts their skilled staff.

Rival in the ring

The list of fighters who wear or have worn Rival's extensive collection of boxing gloves, training gear and clothing is extensive. Former WBC light-heavyweight world champion Jean Pascal was the first to wear Rival boxing gloves dry during a world title fight on HBO. Many (world) champions followed, including: Antony Joshua, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Oleksandr Usyk, Keith Thurman, Artur Beterbiev, Eleider Alvarez, Katie Taylor, Amanda Serrano, Oscar Rivas and countless others.

All of these great fighters and champions have put their trust in Rival’s famous RFX-Guerrero Pro Fight Glove. This glove is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, boxing gloves in terms of protection and fit. This is the crown jewel in this great company’s amazing product line.

Rival in the ring – round 2

The custom-made boxing clothing and accessories have also gained the attention of the entire boxing world. What started as an occasional production order has grown into an industry with worldwide demand.

One of the greatest moments in the company's history is the match between Tony Bellew and Isaac Chillemba in 2013. Both fought in full Rival gear and wore Rival Pro Fight gloves. Another great memory is the fight night in July 2018 during the very first Ali Trophy, where Oleksandr Usyk and Murat Gassiev both fought with Rival boxing gloves during their match for the undisputed cruiserweight world title of the WBC.

“Every single member of the Rival team is bound by the commitment to excellence and innovation that have always characterized everything that Rival does. We are boxing people!”

Innovative since 1980

Throughout his life, Rival founder and CEO Russ Anber was fascinated by designing, improving and customizing all types of sports equipment, especially boxing. Russ was always looking for tweaks and improvements that would make the products perform better. Russ started selling boxing gear and gloves in the 1980s to help sponsor and fund his amateur team. It didn’t take him long to realize that little had improved in boxing gloves and training equipment over the years.

“Maximum Protection, Minimum Obstruction”

Early in his career as a boxing trainer, Russ was constantly improving the equipment he used in his training. By the year 2000, he felt it was time to start taking these innovations and designs and turn them into a business. In 2003, he officially started the company Rival Boxing Gear and knew that this was an opportunity to implement all the ideas he had been learning over the previous 20 years. Rival has patented many unique designs and below is a list of some of the most important patents that Rival has introduced to the world.

Patents & Innovations

• Air Cushion System
• Angled Lace Track System
• Conic design
• Ergo design
• Ergo Lace Track System
• Ergo Strap System
• Ergo Strap XTREME system
• Ergonomic True Fist Construction
• Feather Lite
• Intelli-Shock D30™
• Parabolic design
• The Wedge
• Wrist Bolt
• Wrist Lock
• Wrist Lock 2

“Classic Mexican Design Meets Modern Tech”